Moments that matter: a catalogue

Moments that Matter – A Catalogue (part I)

During the employee journey, there are critical moments that are important in establishing the employee experience: moments that matter. Jacob Morgan, is his book The employee experience advantage, makes a distinction between three kinds of moments that matter: specific (like the first day on the job), ongoing (like the interaction between employee and supervisor) and created (like the annual office party). I also like the three kinds of moments that matter that are mentioned in an article on the blog of I4CP: obvious, opaque and invisible. An example of an invisible moment they describe: “Walking across the parking lot on a rainy day, an employee sees an executive pull into reserved, covered parking”.

A collection of 50 “Moments that matter”.

1. The job of your father/ mother

“My father was working for a large electronics company. He was always tired, and never talked about this work”.
“My mother is a doctor, and since I was five years old, I wanted to become one as well”

2. The dominant employer in your hometown

“I grew up in Eindhoven, and all the people we knew, worked for Philips”.

3. A look at the website

“I had a look at their website; all the photo’s were stock photo’s, you could clearly see that”.” On the website I found a lot a stories of people who work there, and if I wanted, I could even mail with them!”

4. Online application

“It took me almost an hour to complete the online application form, and they asked a lot of information that was also on my cv”

“Applying online was easy. Just adding a link to my LinkedIn profile, that was basically it”.

5. Some funny tests

“The first part of the recruitment process, I could do from home. I had to complete some funny tests, and then I answered some questions via my phone. Fast and easy”.

6. Carla the chatbot

“After my application, I was contacted immediately by Carla, the recruitment chatbot. She said I could expect a reaction within two weeks. If I had any questions, I could ask her. Somewhat impersonal, but at least I know whom to contact!”.

7. A short e-mail

“After two weeks, I finally received a reaction, a very short e-mail. I was addresses as “Mr”, although I am “Ms”. I hope they know who I am!”.

8. Rescheduling the interview

My first interview was rescheduled three days before it was planned. They did not say why”.

9. The office building

“The office was very difficult to reach with public transport, it took me a long time to get there! I nearly turned around immediately”.

“On the ground floor, there was a kind of Starbucks, very nice! The people I saw there, seemed to have a lot of fun”.

10. The recruiter

“The recruiter was really grilling me; she looked at het watch a couple times and after exactly 45 minutes she stopped”.

11. The interviews

“In the end, I was interviewed by seven people, at two different days. Many asked the same questions, like: can you mention three strong points? Or: where do you want to be in five years? Boring”.

12. A personal message

“One of the managers who interviewed me, send me a message a day later: You would really well fit well in our team. Please contact me, if you have any questions”.

13. The job offer

“After I waited a while, the assistant collected me, and brought me to the top floor. There all the people I met and some others were waiting for me, with champagne. I got the job! The lady in blue on the left side will be my new boss”.

14. Onboarding

“After I signed the contract, I received a link to the onboarding app. I can introduce myself to my new colleagues, and learn a lot already about the new organisation. I immediately feel at home, although my start date is six weeks from today”.

15. The job title

“Junior trainee…., what do you think?”.

16. The lease car

“I can choose any car I like, as long as it is a Volkswagen Polo”.

17. The first 15 minutes on day 1

“The receptionist did not see my name on the list. They let me wait 15 minutes in the canteen”.

18. Day 1

“Day one was a bit chaotic. Everybody was very busy, and they just gave me some reports to read. My laptop was not ready yet, but I could use another one”.

“They planned a welcome lunch with the team in a nearby restaurant. This really made me feel welcome!”.

19. My first boss

“I learned a lot from her. Although she was very busy, she always had time for me”.

“I hardly ever saw him, he was in meetings most of the time”.

“She was very empathic when my father died”

20. The Big Boss

“The big boss came to my cubicle on Day 1 to welcome me. Please call me Bill, he said”.

“The big boss always parked his golden Jaguar on parking spot number 1. When he took an elevator, we were supposed to take the next one”.

“Big Boss? We have no Big Boss”.

21. Open plan, but not for the boss

“I hate to work in the open plan. There is too much noise, and I cannot concentrate. The boss has a nice corner office”.

22. My first assignment

“They really needed me, and I had to jump in from the first day”.

“It took three weeks, before I was put on my first assignment. I almost left”.

23. Coffee

“I go downstairs to buy a cup of coffee, what comes out of the machine is undrinkable”.

24. The first pay check

“Today I received my first pay check. I don’t understand why it is such a low amount!”.

25. The challenging assignment

“I was asked to go to India, with Beth, and investigate some potential targets. We learned a lot!”

26. An expensive dinner

“When the new client signed, we were all invited to celebrate in this fantastic restaurant. A bit over the top, I would say. They ordered wine that costed US$ 200 per bottle!”.

27. No work today

“There was no work today, I could do something for myself. Going home was not option”.

28. Missing on the schedule

“Everybody’s name was on the schedule, but I could not find mine. The planner had forgotten to plan me in, I found out”.

29. The international trip

“We went to the US, to meet the clients. The partner traveled business class, we were in the back of the plane”.

30. A vacancy in our team

“There was a vacancy in our team, but I was not asked what my views were”.

31. They rejected my friend

“I told a friend about a good opportunity at our organisation. He applied, and he received one of those standard rejection letters. I never heard back from HR”.

32. Talks at the coffee machine

“I avoid the coffee machine, they are always gossiping about other colleagues”.

33. The crisis

“We nearly lost a big client. The management team was in the board room for days, but they never communicated with us, or asked our help”

34. Why did they fire her?

“Monique was one of the best. Why was she fired?”.

35. Jokes

“I find his jokes disgusting, but everybody else seems to like them”.

36. Conflict with a colleague

“Jack is always picking on me. I mentioned it to my supervisor, but he said: Jack is Jack”.

37. I really need a day off

“I need to take a day off to go to the hospital with my mother, but I am afraid to ask”.

Tom Haak is the founder and director of The HR Trend Institute. Prior to founding the HR Trend Institute in 2014, Tom held senior HR positions in companies as Arcadis, Aon, KPMG and Philips. The HR Trend Institute detects, follows and encourages smart and creative use of trends in the field of people and organizations, and also in adjacent areas.